Why
do we tolerate inequality? The answer, according to a new study by economist
Eugenio Proto, is for the slight chance to prosper:

“It seems that even if people believe they have just the
tiniest of chances to become the next Bill Gates, it’s enough
to keep them tolerant of obvious inequality,” says Proto. [...]

“When you look at it rationally, it makes no sense that people
are placing such a disproportionate value on that first one percent
increase in opportunity,” says Proto.
“But that slight increase in fairness seems to have some kind
of symbolic meaning. It appears people are happy to accept extreme inequality
when they have this tiny carrot dangled in front of them.

Translation: "The super wealthy have rigged US tax/monetary policy for their own benefit, and for the detriment of everyone else. Guess there's nothing we can do about it! Better just lie down and accept it."

The current fiscal crisis is a crisis of demand. Large corporations have more cash on-hand than ever before...so why haven't they been hiring? That's right: NO DEMAND. That is the most basic fact one needs to understand about our current economic situation. Trickle-down economics is a joke, and only the uninformed still tout its merits.

How, exactly, has Socialism has been proven ineffective? Are you perhaps ignoring the fact that the most prosperous (per capita), most well-educated, and healthiest countries on earth (moreso than the US in all respects) sway heavily towards socialist policies?

And, please, your examples are terrible. Not every company will invent a product that completely changes the way the world operates. In fact, the overwhelming majority won't. Also, apple didn't create a demand for music delivery devices; the demand was already there. Nor did they create the first mp3 player. All they did was grab a majority of a pre-existing demand.

Life is not fair and there will never be any such thing as income equality. Utopia does not exist. The only thing we can guarantee by pursuing income "equality" and "fairness" is an equal share of misery.